Board of Trustees
Barbara L. Saunders, Chair
Mrs. Barbara Saunders’ interest in public education began with her involvement as chairperson of the Parents’ Association for the School District of Philadelphia’s Head Start program. During her affiliation with Head Start, Mrs. Saunders participated in a partnership with the University Of Pennsylvania to develop a functional study tracking the success of Head Start students. She has also participated in the decision-making process in many aspects of Head Start, including renaming sites, opening new sites, qualification criteria, hiring procedures, and even disciplinary issues.
Mrs. Saunders’ human services career includes work in a supervisory capacity at several agencies. She supervised several Community Living Arrangements (CLAs) at Lynch Community Homes of Montgomery Co. (now KenCrest), and she also supervised a sheltered workshop program for individuals who were hearing and vision impaired at Overbrook School for the Blind.
Mrs. Saunders is passionate about children having access to quality public education. She feels both honored and privileged to serve on the board for several schools within American Paradigm Schools. She is a proud parent of two children – both of who are alumni of First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School, the first American Paradigm School.
Dr. Ronald Whitaker, Vice Chair
Dr. Ronald W. Whitaker, II is the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Assistant Professor of Education at Cabrini University. In this role, he is intentional about incorporating culturally responsive tenets into Cabrini’s undergraduate and graduate education programs. At Cabrini, he also serves as the Assistant Dean in the School of Education, Director of District and School Relations, and Director for the Center for Urban Education, Equity, and Improvement (CUEEI).
Further, Dr. Whitaker also holds the distinction of being a Schouver Fellow at Duquesne University. As a Schouver Fellow, Dr. Ron engages in improvement projects that seeks to establish, nurture, and sustain the Duquesne Collective Action Network. The Duquesne Collective Action Network is a cross-sector, research and development collective focused on building system capacity in local schools and their communities.
Educationally, Dr. Whitaker completed his Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership at Duquesne University, where he was also inducted into Phi Kappa Phi. He also earned a Master’s Degree in Education (M.S. Ed) from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Eastern University and two undergraduate degrees from Geneva
College where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Dr. Ron also earned a Graduate Certificate in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Dr. Whitaker has 15 years’ of experience in Urban Education, where he specializes on issues that influence the educational experiences of African American males. His research interest includes integrating culturally responsive pedagogy into teacher education programs, culturally responsive
programming and practices for minority males, and strategic diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts.
Dr. Whitaker presents his research at both national and international scholarly conferences, and within K-12 educational milieus. He is revered amongst colleagues for engaging in “tough conversations” in a respectful manner. For 15 years, he has led various programming for black boys and men. Lastly, Dr. Whitaker was a 2016 AERA Asa Hilliard/Barbara Sizemore fellow, and
a 2017 Black Theology Fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary/Princeton University.
Lionel Archer, Treasurer
Lionel S. Archer Jr. is a graduate of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design. He is a 29 year employee and Contract Administrator at SEPTA. His career at SEPTA started in the Graphic Design Department. During his first two years at SEPTA he was also a teacher of Graphic Design at the Delaware County Community College in the evenings until it was no longer feasible. During his tenure at SEPTA, Lionel has also worked in the Engineering, Maintenance and Construction Departments as a Contract Compliance Analyst. In this role he reviewed Federal Transit Administration & PennDOT funded SEPTA contracts for compliance with Federal and State regulations. From there he was promoted to Contract Compliance Administrator where he supervised other Contract Compliance Analysts. Lionel’s most recent promotion was to the position of Contract Administrator where he performs “cradle to grave” contract administration functions for assigned contract services in the Technical Services section.
Lionel was born in Washington, DC and moved to South Philadelphia with his parents at the age of 4. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Catholic grade school and St. John Neumann High School. Lionel is married with one son who attends Tacony Academy Charter School.
Anita Vega- Kaiser, Secretary
Mrs. Anita Vega Kaiser is a Senior Veterans Service Representative at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her work includes processing claims for disability compensation and providing one-on-one mentorship and training to new employees. This requires her to maintain up-to-date information on Federal Laws and Regulations set by Congress.
In her former role as Legislative Assistant for State Rep. John J. Taylor, R-Pa., Mrs. Vega Kaiser worked with Juanita neighborhood community members to resolve problems ranging from issues with a driver’s license to acquiring birth certificates to abandoned cars. During her six years with Rep. Taylor, she organized the first Hispanic Community Fair and assisted in outreach efforts to the Hispanic community.
She is a 2011 graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Psychology and Social Science.
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